Folding dental operating chair



Feb. 1955 c. F. SHUESSLER FOLDING DENTAL OPERATING CHAIR 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 21, 1952 INVENTOR. Carin? FJchuessZer ATIU R N EYS Feb. 15, 1955 c. F. SHUESSLER FOLDING DENTAL OPERATING CHAIR I 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 21, 1952 Feb. 15, 1955 c. F. SHUESSLER FOLDING DENTAL OPERATING CHAIR 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed NOV. 21, 1952 INVENTOR. CarZo: l'T'ficfizzas'sZer Feb. 15, 1955 c, SHUESSLVER 2,702,072

FOLDING DENTAL OPERATING CHAIR Filed Nov. 21, 1952 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. 7 Carla: Ffidzuessler ATTORNE S Feb. 15, 1955 c. F. SHUESSLER FOLDING DENTAL OPERATING CHAIR 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Nov. 21, 1952 R m m m Carlos F5'c7zu essZer BY Feb. 15, 1955 c. F. SHUESSLER FOLDING DENTAL OPERATING CHAIR 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 Filed Nov. 21, 1952 INVENTOR. CarZosFSUkuessZer ATTU RN EYS United States Patent 2,702,012 EOLDINGDENTAL OPERATING CHAIR .Qarlos F. Schuessler, United-States Air Force, .assignor to. th Un ed States m n' a as er sssn d by the Secretaryofthe'Army Application November 21, 1952, Serial Nab-21,263 3.laims.- (G1. 155-46) an nd r T d c d 9 2) 2 The inventiondescribed herein may be manufaetured andused by or 'for the Government for governmental pprposes, without payment to me of any royalty thereon. -Th is i vention generically relates to chairs, butmore particularly'it is directed to a knocked down foldable chair suitable for use by a dentist in the practice of his profession.

In .the past there has been a need within the field forces of theArmed Services for a knocked down folding dental operating chair which can be transported conveniently along with the mobile units of the dental .corpsto the field -where. it can-be readily assembled for use in the field. To fulfill this need, 'achair was desired which by means of its construction couldbe knocked down and folded into a compactness permitting it'to be packed within a standard field chest and one which .is light enough to permit its transportation with convenience to the fieldwhere it can be readily unfolded and assembled forfield dental service.

"lt is the' principal object ,of this invention to provide a denta the o ligh w h a i i P ary. mponents foldable intoa compact unassembled form for convenient transportationbut adapted to 'be readilyv a ssernbled to provide a conventional dental chair.

It is another object of this invention .to provide a.

dental chair which may be knocked downandfolded intoa compact form having the 12 9 Seat, .flQdlegsin ,oY lying relation with respect to each.other for'transportati n and readily assembled intoa chair affording all of e fa ities o standatdldntl Phai 'tq udi 's t ig d y.

her obiec wil app a fr m readi g {of .thefqblow n des p n .Q the. nvention aken qniuast 'n w t drawin herein:

.i s as de i Qtth d n a hai sho ng. in ptte. .un the st a ted l nat vepesit f he l Fig. 2 is a front view of the dental chair;

3 sa re v t qnshowin the a e tructur ts f de and ino rati e. pos in pa t eia shown nsestio i s d tai ed 12 2 view. of. th rqm aadree l ss sto 5 is a rear view showing the backof the chair and'its base' pivot connection;

M Fig. Q6is' a vertical sectional view of the chair supportingjja'ssembly with th chairback shown in .section, the section being taken along line 6T6ofFigI5;

Fig. 7 is ahorizontal sectional view showing in detail the chair standards locking device, the section lbeing taken along line 7.7. of Fig. 5;" i

Fig. .8 is a plan view of the seat portion of the chair in its operative position and showing its pivotal "can,-

nectipn'to th'e back frame, with parts in section;

Fig. 9 is aborizontalsectional'view of the seat portion of the chair, the section being taken along line 9-9 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is a horizontal sectional view showing in detail the 'co'nnection between the chair supporting frame and base, the section being taken along'line 10-510 ofFig. 9;

Fig. 11 is a side view of the chair arms provided with a bracket for receiving the cuspidor'hanger shown'in dotted lines;

Fig. 12 is a front view of the chair arm secured to the chain withaportion cut away showingthe threaded bolt connections to. the chair;

Fig. 13 is a front view of the other chair arm with the boltqjconnectors removed;

v Fig. and

bars--34 by bolt 36aextending between 28 and 34. The bars 34-have their opposite ends pivotallyf' Fig. 14 is a horizontalsectional view showing the chair arm bolt connections, thje'section being taken along line g 1.1;.

Fig. 15 is an inverted plan view of'the seat of the'chair and showing the foot-rest in its f0ldedposition';'"'

Fig. 16 is a view similar to Fig. G-shoWing the footrest-in folded positionunder the seat and --in 'dotted lines the seat and foot-rest in folded position aga'inst tliefront of the back, with the legs folded against' the' rearf'side ofthe -b ack; i

Fig. 1:7 is a horizontal sectional view showing --thezjoint construction usedin securing the horizontal rod50 to'lthe standards 44, the section being taken along line I-L 1? of Fig.5; i

Fig. 18 is a front view of the head-rest having the headrest support clamp shown in section, taken along line 1818 of Fig. l;

Fig. 19 is a side view of the head restand head-rest support showing in section its mountingon the back frame 92;

Fig. 20 .is a side view of the head-rest support having the upper portion cut away to disclose'a side 'view of the ad usting means; i

Fig. 2-1 is a vertical sectional view of the head-rest support, the section being taken along line'21 21 of Fig. 22 is a horizontal sectional view showing the joint construction used in securing the horizontal rod 13410 tlieFf range 92, the section being takenalong lin'e 22- 22 0 1g. i T

Briefly this invention comprises a dental operating chair constructed basically of a tubular aluminum .allbyto provide a structure of high strength,'but oneo'f relative lightweight. The structurev has itscomponent's pivotany mounted about a centralized pivot meansfso tlfatthy' may be folded together into a .compact structure which when taken in conjunctionwith its light .weight niay be easily transported-from one field position toianother and there readily assembled for field dentaliservlce. To adapt this chair for dentaluse it is understood. that it mustb'e adjustablewith respect. to height and-degree of :tilt',.With a bracket secured to the chair for receiving .a cuspidor. of any standard make. For. the comfort of'thelpatien't'thfe chair is provided with a two-wayadjustable headrest, arms and a foot-rest. To prevent the chair from having What may be termed dead'iweight, the seat-is so -des'igiied that 1ts supporting structure'is incorpbratediwithin '.ifsarms.

For a detailed descriptionof .thepresent invention, ref erence -1s made-,to the drawings in which as showfi'in. Figs. 1, 2 and 3 thenumeral 10 designates a tubular rod; passlngthrough the chair below its seat section, and hav mga' plurality of tubular sleeve sections .12; -14- a'nd 1.6, best shown in Fig. 3, pivotally mounted on the rod .10; A pair of-legs IS-are rigidly secured to the'sleeve section; 14- intermediate a pairoflegs 20 rigidly'secured adjacent' to the outeredgesof the sleeve 1-2-and 16-with a pairiof outwardly 'bowedbracer members 22 secured to :thdinner. edgesof the sleeves 12 and 16. The legs 18 (Fig. 3). depend downwardly from the allel relation to eachother to a point intermediate theirends where theyfiare out to form a pair of:widely spacedinterconnected by atubular rear legsupports for the chair rung 24 extending between the legs adjacent to their.

- lower ends;while the' legs 20-depend' from theirjsupporting 12 and'16 with a slight divergence pair of tubularsleeves toform a pair of similarly widely spaced front legsup ports for the chair interconnected by a tubular rung "26 extending between the legs. The rung 26 is parallel-to vrung 24 and is connected to rung '24-by aninterconnecting means including a pair of spaced bars-28 (Fig.4) pivotally connected at one end-by bolts '30to aIpair of ears 32 rigidly secured to the rung 26 and having their opposite ends pivotally connected to a corresponding pair of the pairs of bars connected by bolts-40 toa pair ofe" to rung 24. A hook means. 42 (Fig. .1) isicarried byIthe tubularrod 10 and depends therefrom to .aposition wlferei" itma'y hook the pivotgbolt 36.carried:by TheEbaIS QS and? tubular sleeve -14 in a par-1 ars 38 .rigidly secured sponding passages diameter than the vertical member 34 interconnecting the leg rungs 24 and 26, to maintain the legs in their drawn position as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 1 when the pivots formed by the bolt 36 are broken upwardly drawing the legs together.

Chair support A pair of vertical standards 44 (Figs. Sand 6) having upper ends and lower ends with a plurality of corre- 100 intermittently spaced on upper portions thereof are secured at their lower ends to a pair of ofisets 46 secured to the outer extremities of the tubular rod by bolts 48 which extend through the said vertical standards, offsets and rod. As shown in Fig. 5 a tubular cross rod 50 extends between the standards intermediate their upper and lower ends and is provided with bushings 58 (Fig. 17) secured within the tubular rod adjacent to its ends by bolts 56 and adapted to receive bolts 54 passing through clamps 52 carried by the standards, and the standards thereby connecting the rod 50 to .theqstandards 44. The tubular cross rod 50 carries a tubular T-member 60 having its horizontal member 62 pivotally connected to the cross rod between a pair of collars 64 and its vertical member 66 having a horizontal passage 68 adjacent to its lower end depending from the said horizontal member where it coacts with an inverted tubular T-member 70 (Figs. '1 and 3) having its horizontal member 72 extending between a pair of tubular collars 74 with which it is pivotally connected to the rear legs 18 by bolt 76, and its vertical member 78 of smaller 66 of T-member 60 with' a plurality of corresponding spaced passages 80 whereby in the assembling of the chair it slides within the said vertical member 66 to a desired position and there locked with a pin 82 which is inserted through the aligned passa es 80 and 68 of the vertical members to provide the chair with a means for adjusting its angle of tilt. The pin 82 is provided at one end with a small section 84which is frictionally aligned with the body of the pin 82 for insertion, but which may be pivoted about a friction joint 86 to a crosswise position thereby preventing the pin from being accidentally withdrawn, and at its other end-with a chain 88 having itsfree end secured to the bolt 76. The inverted T-member 70 in its inoperative state as shown in Fig. 3 is pivoted downwardly until its end havin a spring bearing 90 engages a corresponding socket provided therefor in the tubular rung 24 locking the T-member 78 to the rung 24.

Back component Referringagain to Figs. 1, 2 and 6 in which there is shown an inverted U-shaped tubular frame 92 supporting a back 94 in front of the vertical standards 44 on which it is slidably mounted by a plurality of sleeves 96 and 98 rigidly secured to the frame 92 by bolts 102. The standards 44 being provided with a plurality of corresponding vertically spaced passages 100 extending downwardly from their upper ends through which as shown in Fig; 7 pins 104 passingthrough sleeves 98 may be selectively inserted provides a locking means and'a means for adjusting the height of the chair assembly including the seat and back secured to the frame 92. The pins 104 pass through housings 106 secured to sleeves 98 and house stops 108 carried'by the pins 104 for imparting forward motion to the pins 104 by springs 110 having ends abutting the stops 108.and opposite ends abutting the rear of the housings 106. The rear end of the pins 104 are pivotally secured by bolts 112 to arms 114 connected in a spacedrelation to a pivot point 116 of a lever 118 pivotally secured through the pivot point by a screw 120 to a boss122 secured'to the chair back 94. The arms 114 are so disposed with respect to the lever 118 that when it is rotated about the pivot point 116 from a horizontal to a vertical position the pins 104 are withdrawn from the selected passages 100 compressing the helical spring 110 which upon release of the lever drives the pins forward into corresponding passages 100 of the standards 44.

V ears1144 rigidly secured to rod 132. ,The rod 134 is secured to the lower ends of the vertical members of the inverted U-shaped back frame 92 (Fig. 5) by bolts 136 passing through the said vertical members into bushings 138 (Fig. 22) carried by clamps 140 secured within the ends of the rod 134 by bolts 142.

To the forward tubular'ro'd of ;the U-shaped seat frame 130 is pivotally connected a foot-rest150 shown in its operative position in Fig. 8 and comprising a horizontal tubular rod 152 rigidly secured between the lower ends of two vertical tubular rods 154 having their upper ends rigidly secured to horizontal tubular sleeve members 156 pivotally mounted on the forward member of the U-shaped seat frame. 'The foot-rest may be adjusted in varying positions along its are by an adjustable tubular element including-a diagonal member 158 having a plurality of intermittently spaced passages 160 intermediate its ends secured at one end to a tubular sleeve 162 pivotally mounted upon the horizontal tubular rod 152 of the foot-rest 150 and in its operative position extending upwardly and rearwardly within a corresponding tubular diagonal member 164 of larger diameter than the diagonal member 158 and having one end threadedly mounted within a horizontal sleeve member 166 pivotally mounted upon the rod 132 with a passage 168 adjacent to its other end corresponding to the plurality of passages 160 on the diagonal member 158 through which a pin 170 may be selectively inserted for locking the diagonal members 158 and 164 together thereby providing a bracing element for the foot-rest 150. The pin 170 has at its forward end a section 172 held by friction joint 174 in alignment with the body of the pin 170 for insertion purposes but which may be folded crosswise to provide a means for locking the pin through the selected passages, and at its opposite end a chain 176 having its free end secured by a screw 180 to a boss 178, welded to the diagonal member 164. When the pin 170 is removed from its passages the diagonal member 164 being thread edly mounted on sleeve member 166 may be removed from the said sleeve member and slid over the dia onal member 158 to which it is then secured by the pin 170 in its inoperative position as shown in Figs. 15 and 16, thereby permitting the diagonal members to be folded rearwardly and upwardly with the foot-rest members into juxtaposition with the seat frame and maintained in that position by a spring clip 182 rigidly secured to the bottom of the seat 146.

The seat is maintained in a fixed relation to the back by a pair of detachable tubular arms 190 (Figs. 11, 12

receive cuspidor hangers 224 as shown in Figs. 11 and l2.v

u and 13) comprising a pair of diverging horizontal tubular members 192 supported above the seat frame by substantially vertical diverging members 194 formed as an integral part ofthe horizontal members and secured to the back frame 92 by upwardly extendingmembers 196 formed as integral parts of the horizontal diverging members 192.

The arm members 196 as shown in Fig. 12 are secured to bushings 200, welded within the back frame 92 and having internally threaded passages adapted to receive threaded portions of bolts 202 passin throu h horiz ntal tubular arm porti ns 204 integral with the arm members 196. The bolts 202 at their ends opposite h ir threaded portions are provided with levers 206 slidablv mounted throu h passages 208 for ti htenin the b lts 202. hereby ri idlv securing the arms to the said back frame 92. The bolts'202 being detachable with the arms and therefore sub ect to becoming lost throu h transportation are provided with retaining means which, as shown in Fi s. 12 and 14, consist of pins 2 0 passing through the b ts 202 in chambers 212 of the horizontal tubular arms. 204 provided wi h pas a es 214 wherebv access to the ins 210 may be had. The vertical diverging mem rs 194 of the arms are secured to the seat frame 130 in the same manner as were the arm members 196 to the frame 92 hv b lts 216 identical in construction with the b lts 202 and h ing t e s me retainin means. The arm memher 1 6 and 194 are provided with diago l bracing bars 218 h vin ends'of cus idor brackets 220 secured thereto.-The o her ends of the cusnidorhrackets are secured to the horizontal arm members 192 and the brackets are provided with passa es 222 adapted to Head rest and head rest support Thehorizontal member of the inverted U-shaped backan internally threaded passage 248 adapted to receive a threaded portion of a bolt 250 having a slidable pin 252 passing through its outer end for screwing the bolt into the internally threaded passage 248 by hand, and a washer 254 which seats within an annular recess provided therefor in a ring member 256 secured to the tubular rod 238 by a pin 257 as shown in Figs. 20 and 21. The ring 256 is provided with a plurality of semi-annularly disposed passages 258 circumscribing a recess 260 to receive a coiled spring 261. A corresponding ring 262 provided on one side with a recess adapted to receive the rod 246 and on the other side with a pin 264 adapted to be received by the passages 258 of ring 256 whereby in operation the tightening of the bolt 250 causes the washer 254 to force the rings 256 and 262 against the rod 246 while at the same time exerting a force on the block 240 tending to pull it through the rings providing thereby a clamp for the head rest rod 246. The head rest rod 246 may be tilted to a desired angle of tilt with this arrangement by loosening the bolt 250 permitting the spring 261 to separate the ring 256 from the pin 264 of ring 262 whereby it may be rotated to the desired angle of tilt and there secured by tightening the bolt 250 resetting the pin 264 within a desired passage of the ring 256.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and wish to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A knocked down foldable dental chair comprising in its unfolded and assembled position two pairs of tubular parallel, diagonal supporting legs, a plurality of horizontal elements connecting said diagonal members, a pair of tubular standards supported in space by the said diagonal supporting members, the said standards having an upper end and a lower end, the said horizontal elements including a tubular rod extending between the pair of standards adjacent to their lower ends, the two pairs of diagonal supporting legs being pivotally mounted upon the said rod intermediate its ends and having one pair of legs extending forwardly and the remaining pair extending rearwardly of said rod, a second tubular rod extending between the pair of standards intermediate their ends, a third tubular rod extending between the rearwardly extending legs intermediate the ends thereof, an adjustable tubular diagonal member having one end pivotally mounted upon the second tubular rod and its other end pivotally mounted upon the third tubular rod, a stop means for locking said adjustable diagonal in a desired position, an inverted U-shaped tubular frame adjustably mounted between the pair of standards, a back carried by the said inverted U-shaped frame, stop means for locking the adjustable inverted U-shaped frame upon the pair of standards in a desired position, a fourth tubular rod extending between vertical members of the inverted U-shaped frame adjacent to their ends, an open seat frame pivotally mounted upon the said fourth rod of less width than the distance between the inverted U- shaped frame, a seat carried by the said seat frame, a pair of detachable triangular shaped tubular arms having ends of their hypotenuses connected to the inverted U- shaped frame at a point intermediate the ends of its vertical members and the horizontal member of the U- shaped frame interconnecting the vertical members of the said frame, the said arms having opposite ends connected adjacent to the forward edge of the open seat frame, a lower extending tubular foot rest pivotally mounted upon the forward edge of the seat, a second adjustable diagonal member having one end pivotally mounted upon the foot rest and its other end pivotally mounted upon the fourth tubular rod, stop means for locking the second adjustable diagonal member in a desired position, and a two-way adjustable head rest mounted upon the horizontal member of the inverted U-shaped member, the first-mentioned adjustable member being secured to the second tubular rod connected to the standards and the third tubular rod connected to the rearwardly extending legs providing a to the supporting legs.

for locking the second 2. A knocked down and foldable dental chair comprising in its unfolded position two pairs or parallel, diagonal supporting legs, a plurality of horizontal elements connecting said diagonal members, a pair of standards supported in spaced relation by the said diagonal supporting members, the said standards having an upper end and a lower end, the said plurality of horizontal elements including a rod extending between the pair of standards adjacent to their lower ends, the two pairs of diagonal supporting legs being pivotally mounted upon the said rod intermediate its ends and having one pair of legs extending forwardly and the remaining pair extending rearwardly of said rod, a second rod extending between the pair of standards intermediate their ends, a third rod extending between the rearwardly extending legs intermediate the ends thereof, and an adjustable diagonal member having one end pivotally mounted upon the second rod and its other end pivotally mounted upon the third rod, a stop means for locking said adjustable diagonal in a desired position, an inverted U-shaped frame adjustably mounted between the pair of standards, a back carried by the said inverted U-shaped frame, stop means for locking the adjustable inverted U-shaped frame upon the pair of standards in a desired position, a fourth rod extending between vertical members of the inverted U-shaped frame adjacent to their ends, an open seat frame pivotally mounted upon the said fourth rod of less width than the distance between the inverted U-shaped frame, a seat carried by the said seat frame, a pair of attachable triangular shaped arms having ends of their hypotenuses connected to the inverted U-shaped frame at a point intermediate the ends of its vertical members and the horizontal member of the inverted U-shaped frame interconnecting the vertical members of the said frame and opposite ends connected adjacent to the forward, edge of the open seat frame, a lower extending foot rest pivotally mounted upon the forward edge of the seat, a second adjustable diagonal member having one end pivotally mounted upon the foot rest and its other end pivotally mounted upon the fourth rod, stop means adjustable diagonal member in a desired position, and a two-way adjustable head rest mounted upon the horizontal member of the inverted U-shaped member, the first-mentioned adjustable member being secured to the second rod connected to the standards and the third rod connected to the rearwardly extending legs providing a means for tilting the chair rearwardly, while the inverted U-shaped frame carrying the back and seat being adjustably mounted upon the said pair of standards provides a means for adjusting the height of the seat with respect to the supporting legs.

3. A knocked down foldable dental chair comprising two pairs of parallel supporting legs, a plurality of horizontal elements connecting the said parallel supporting legs, pivot oints intermediate the ends of the plurality of horizontal elements, a pair of standards supported in space by the said supporting legs, the said standards havmg upper ends and lower ends, the lower ends being prov ded with rearwardly extending offsets, a rod extending between the offsets adjacent to their rearwardly extending ends, the two pairs of supporting legs pivotally mounted upon the said rod, means for fixing the degree of tilt of the standards, a back frame adjustably mounted upon the standards, a back carried by said back frame, a seat frame pivotally mounted upon the back frame, a seat carried by the seat frame, detachable means for locking the seat in a fixed position with respect to the back, a foot rest pivotally connected to the seat frame, means for locking the foot rest in a selected position,

the said supporting legs being pivotally connected to the said rod secured to the rearwardly extending offsets interconnecting the standards and rod so as to permit the legs to be folded into an overlying position with the standards, the foot rest being pivotally connected to the forward edge of the seat frame so as to permit the foot rest to be folded rearwardly into the seat frame, and the seat frame, upon removal of the detachable means for fixing the position of the seat with respect to the :back, being pivotally connected to the back frame so as permit t e seat 111 5 rleg'stfto' b; ma illztogn r .1. UNITED STATES PATENTS over ymg posmon W1 1:. ac V rame came y: e v.

stgndardsj to form a compact ,knockeddown and m1: 7 1 References Cited m filg patentassembled foldablephainwhichcanvbe readily unfolded 538,407 Browne Apr. 30, 1895 and assembled for use. I 649,336 McConnell, May-8, 1900 1,715,118 Clark May 28, 1929 

